Printing machines



y 1957 K. L. MARSHALL 2,797,641

PRINTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 19, 1955- III /52 /65 /57IIIIIIIIIII/IIIIII'IIlI/I/Ill J INVENTgEL KENNETH L.,MARSH 55 76 PTATTORNEYS atent 2,797,641 Patented July 2, 1957 PTING MACHINES KennethL. Marshall, Wickclifie, Ohio, assignor to Addressograph-MultigraphCorporation, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationAugust 19, 1955, Serial No. 529,542

(Ilaims. (Cl. 101421) This invention relates to printing machines, andmore particularly to those printing machines which utilize printingmeans including a ribbon that enables impres sions to be produced at theprinting station of the machine.

Printing machines of the kind to which the present invention relates arethose that produce impressions on a sheet from type characters by meansincluding a ribbon bearing ink or the like, and wherein it is customaryto utilize a ribbon guard that permits the printing of selected dataonly. An example of a printing machine of this kind is an addressingmachine wherein individual print ing devices of a well-known kind eachhaving a printing plate bearing embossed type characters in the form ofan address or the like are passed one by one to a printing station inthe machine. An inked ribbon is interposed between the lower side of thesheet to be printed and the printing faces of the embossed typecharacters, and a platen is operative on the upwardly disposed face ofthe sheet to be printed to efiect the desired imprinting of the lowerface thereof at the printing station. There are circumstances where itis desired to utilize in conjunction with such printing devices anauxiliary printing means for imprinting the sheet with additional datasuch as a signature, a consecutive number, a date or the like. Theauxiliary printing means is usually positioned at the printing stationso as to imprint the auxiliary or secondary data in predetermined spacedrelation with respect to the primary data printed on the sheet from aprinting device. In order that this may be accomplished the intermediatearea where the ribbon would otherwise be operative to produce a mark onthe sheet is blanked out by a ribbon guard as is well known, and thisribbon guard also serves to prevent the ribbon from being operativeexcept in the immediate area where the sheet is to be printed.

Heretofore, one of the customary procedures has been to first produce animpression of the primary data and the auxiliary data in the machinewithout the interposition of a ribbon guard so as to obtain a proof orpattern impression. The impression thus obtained is then used as a guideto enable a ribbon guard to be formed from a piece of relatively thinsheet metal having cut-out portions in those areas where the platen isto be operative to press the sheet to be printed and the ribbon againstthe embossures on the printing device and the type characters of theprepositioned auxiliary printer.

There are also circumstances where only predetermined portions of theembossed data on printing devices are to be operative to produceimpressions. Thus, printing devices of the aforesaid kind may carrydifferent orders of embossed data used for printing, such as an address,a social security number, a job rating and so on and there aresituations where all such orders or even certain data within an orderare not to be printed. In this instance again it is customary to form aribbon guard that will expose only the desired area or areas of theprinting devices to the action of the platen so that the ribbon will notbe operative with respect to those data obscured by the ribbon guard.

Inasmuch as the ribbon guard is produced from sheet metal stock andusually is to be cut out or opened in areas disposed inwardly of theedges thereof, it is necessary that special tools and equipment be usedand that care be taken to reduce burring during formation of thecut-outs, since otherwise there will result rough edges about theopenings in the ribbon guard that will scratch or even tear the ribbonor the sheet to be printed, and the primary object of the presentinvention is to overcome these objectionable features of ribbon guardsas heretofore selectively produced for individual requirements. Anobject ancillary to this is to materially reduce the time and carerequired in producing ribbon guards for the aforementioned purposes.

Another of the problems that has been encountered with ribbon guards asheretofore provided has been that ink on the ribbon tends to accumulateabout the border edge of the opening in the ribbon guard and suchaccumulations eventually off-set or bleed on to a sheet undergoingprinting so that there are occurrences of undesired marks or borders onthe printed sheet. Also, it sometimes occurs that as the printed sheetadvances across the ribbon guard, the fresh ink smudges so that theimprint is not to perfection. A further object of the present inventionis to materially lessen the possibilities of the aforesaid occurrences.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawing which, by way of illustration, shows a preferredembodiment of the present invention and principle thereof and what I nowconsider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying thatprinciple. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same orequivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made asdesired by those skilled in the art without departing from the presentinvention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a printing machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of a ribbon guard constructed in accordance withthe present invention;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the reverse side of the ribbon guard shown inFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the tympan sheet; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the ribbon guard and theimprinting means at the printing station of the printing machine.

In accordance with the present invention, a ribbon guard is firstproduced having an opening or openings of maximum size that willordinarily be required where primary data alone or primary data inconjunction with auxiliary data are to be printed by means including aribbon. Such an opening is then completely covered by a tympan sheet ofa kind to be described herein, and when the amount or area of data to beprinted in a given situation has been determined the correspondingportion of the tympan sheet is then removed from the aforesaid openingof maximum size. It will thus be seen that the present invention enablesproduction of what might be termed master ribbon guards having tympansheets that are adapted to be selectively provided with openings thatmay vary from minimal to maximal depending upon the particular situationthat is encountered in operation of a printing machine such as the kindmentioned above. Printing devices and auxiliary printers used in suchmachines are supplied in standard sizes, so that the data appearingthereon that are to be used for printing will occupy areas of knowndimensions, and these dimensions will be determinative of the maximumsized openings that are to be preformed in the ribbon guard.

The present invention is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings asembodied in the printing station PS of the printing machine disclosed inU. S. Patent No. 2,359,849, Fig. 1 hereof corresponding to Fig. 6 ofsaid patent.

At the printing station PS there is a platen roller PR supported by areciproclable carriage C actuated by means including a cross bar 122 anda pair of links as 124. One such link only appears in Fig. 1 hereof, andthese links at the ends opposite the cross. bar 122 are adapted totransmit motion of the cross bar 122 to the carriage C. When this occursin a forward direction, the platen roller PR is lowered toward the sheetS to be printed, and the resilient facing PF on the platen roller bearsagainst the upper face of the sheet S as shown in Fig. to affectimprinting of the lower face of the sheet S at one area thereof throughan inked ribbon IR, and in certain instances another larea of the sheetS may likewise be imprinted at the same time, as will be described.

As in the machine of Patent No. 2,359,849, printing devices D, Fig. 5,carrying a printing plate PT having embossed type characters TC thereonare advanced one by one to the printing station so as to be disposedover the type characters TC. In operation of the machine, the platenroller PR is elfective to press the lower face of the sheet S againstthe ribbon IR so that the desired imprinting from the type characters TCis effected.

The type characters TC may be formed in one or more lines, and these mayrepresent information of different kinds. Primarily, type characters asTC are adapted to print an address, but there are instances where it maybe desired to merely print the name of the addressee, and there areinstances where it is desired to reproduce all of the data carried bythe printing devices D including :an address, a social security number,a withholding tax, and so on.

It will therefore be seen that depending upon the particular printingapplication that is involved all or but a selected amount of theembossed data borne by the print ing device as D are to be used forprinting, and in order that this may be accomplished selectively aribbon guard plate 150 is afforded at the printing station PS and isremovably retained in position by locating pins 151 and that are adaptedto fit into corresponding openings formed in the table top- T of themachine.

The printing devices D are of the kind shown in Fig. 10 of theaforementioned patent, and these are produced in standard sizes so thatthe maximum extent or area occupied by the embossed data thereon isknown. Under the present invention, the guard plate 150 is first formedwith an opening 155 of the maximum size required to expose all of theembossed data on a device as D to the sheet S to be printed. In thisconnection, it is well to point out that the opening 155 is formed in adepressed panel 156 of the guard plate 150 inwardly of elevated borderportions 157 that extend about the periphery of the guard plate 150.

There are instances wherein the sheet S is to be printed not only byembossed data of the aforementioned kind but also by type characterscarried by an auxiliary printer. Such an auxiliary'printer may be in theform of a dater, a consecutive numbering device or the like and thisauxiliary printer will likewise be located at the printing station PS.Therefore, the guard plate 150 is also provided with another opening 160that is spaced from the opening 155 by an intervening portion 161 of theguard plate. The opening 160 is also pre-cut to the maximum area thatwill be required for exposing thesheet S to the type characters of theauxiliary printer, and it will be appreciated that where such auxiliarydata are to be printed on the sheet S in juxtaposition to the primarydata thereon from the printing devices D a corresponding auxiliaryfacing PFS is afforded on the platen roller PR.

Under the present invention, the side of the ribbon guard plate that isdisposed toward the sheet S to be printed is provided with a tympansheet which is in the nature of that described in U. S. Patent No.2,555,- 319, patented June 5, 1951. Thus, as shown in Fig. 4 the tympansheet 165 comprises a flexible backing 166 such as that ordinarily usedfor abrasive sheets. The back 166 has adhesively secured to one facethereof minute globular bodies 167, and these bodies are so distributedas to afford but a single layer of bodies that are closely spaced andheld to the back 166 by adhesive 169. The globular bodies 167 arepreferably in the form of relatively small glass beads having a diameterof but several thousandths of an inch, and these serve as will bedescribed to afford a plurality of points for supporting the sheet Sdisposed on the ribbon guard plate 159. The tympan sheet 165 is providedwith a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 171, and interposed betweenthe adhesive layer 171 and the flexible backing 166 is a barrier coat172 which is impervious to ink. In this connection, it will be realizedthat the barrier coat 172 will be exposed at edges of the tympan sheet,as at 172A and 172B, and this prevents bleeding of ink in the directionof the sheet S as will be mentioned. The barrier 172 may consist of asuitable resin, such as an alkyd resin, an ink-repellent mixture such asglue-glycerine, or an inkinert synthetic rubber impregnant or film.

When the amount of data that is to be printed on the sheet S has beendetermined, the tympan sheet 165 is then cut out as at 165A so that onlyso much of the printing device at the printing station is in effectexposed at the printing station, and when the platen roller PR isoperated through a printing stroke only the desired data will beprinted. Likewise, when out out at 165B the auxiliary printer isexposed; otherwise, the only imprint on the sheet S will be that allowedthrough the opening 165A.

After the sheet as S has been printed, the sheet is then fed forwardlyas viewed in Fig. 1, and at this time the upwardly disposed beadedsurface of the tympan sheet 165 is effective to prevent smudging of thefresh imprint as might be likely in some instances where the guard plate150 is bare, this being due of course to the fact that the sheet S is ineffect suspended on a multitude of points that correspond in number tothe number of bodies as 167 which engage the sheet S.

Inasmuch as the tympan sheet 165 includes edges in the cut-out portionsthereof that may engage the ribbon, especially when the platen roller iseffective, it is desirable that any ink that may collect about the edgesof the cut-outs 165A or 165B be prevented from bleeding to the sheet S.Under the present invention, such is assured by the ink-repellentbarrier coat 172 which, as was mentioned, will be exposed at edges ofthe tympan sheet.

It will therefore be seen that a ribbon guard produced in accordancewith the present invention, enables greater perfection to be obtainedduring printing, materially sim plifies the formation of the guard toaccommodate the desired amount .or kind of data used for printing, andovercomes many of the objectionable features of ribbon guards asheretofore constructed.

Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodimentof my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable ofvariation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited tothe precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of suchchanges and alterations as fall within the purview of the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. In a ribbon guard for the printing station in a printing machine ofthe kind described and which includes a guard plate formed with at leastone opening to expose an area of a sheet to be printed to the action ofthe printing means at said printing station, a tympan sheet adapted tobe secured to one side of said plate, said tympan sheet being formedwith an opening therein affording inner edges of the tympan sheetadapted to extend at least to opposed edges of the opening in saidplate, said tympan sheet including an ink barrier and being faced withminute globular bodies affording a substantially uniform surface forsupporting such sheet to be printed.

2. In a ribbon guard for the printing station in a printing machine ofthe kind described and which includes a guard plate formed with at leastone opening of the size required for exposing an area of a sheet to beprinted to the imprinting data on a printing plate or the like at saidprinting station, a tympan sheet adapted to be removably secured to theside of the guard plate on which the sheet to be printed is to bedisposed, said tympan sheet on the side opposite that to be secured tothe guard plate being faced with minute globular bodies affording auniform support for said sheet to be printed, said tympan sheet beingformed with an opening therein affording inner edges adapted to extendat least to opposed edges of the opening in said guard plate to defineprecisely the area of the sheet to be printed as aforesaid, and saidtympan sheet having an ink barrier interposed between the side thereofto be secured to said guard plate and said globular bodies.

3. In a printing machine of the kind described adapted to imprint asheet by means including a platen and an inked ribbon and a ribbon guardplate having an opening therein, a tympan formed with an opening thereinnot larger than the opening in the guard plate, said opening in thetympan sheet being registered with respect to the opening in the guardplate so that edges of the opening in said tympan sheet extend at leastto opposed edges of the opening in said guard plate to precisely definethe area of the sheet which is to be exposed for printing, said tympansheet being provided on the exposed face thereof with minute globularbodies affording spaced points for supporting said sheet, and saidtympan sheet including an ink barrier exposed at said edges of thetympan sheet to prevent bleeding of ink in the direction of the sheet tobe printed.

4. A ribbon guard for the printing station in a printing machine of thekind described comprising, a guard plate formed with at least oneopening inwardly of the edges thereof to expose an area of a sheet to beprinted to the action of the printing means at said printing station,and a tympan sheet secured to one side of said plate and includingportions that extend beyond said opening on all sides thereof, saidtympan sheet including an ink barrier and being faced with minuteglobular bodies.

5. A ribbon guard for the printing station in a printing machine of thekind described comprising, a guard plate formed with at least oneopening of the maximum size required for exposing an area of a sheet tobe printed to the imprinting data on a printing plate or the like insaid machine, and a tympan sheet removably secured by pressure-sensitiveadhesive to one side of the guard plate and having portions thatsurround the opening in said guard plate, said tympan sheet on the sideopposite that secured to the guard plate being faced uniformly withminute globular bodies affording spaced points for supporting saidsheet, and said tympan sheet having an ink barrier interposed betweenthe pressure-sensitive adhesive and said globular bodies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,519,119 De Meurisse Dec. 16, 1924

